Commenting on his role, Ben Miller says: “As a committed Whovian I cannot believe my luck in joining the Twelfth Doctor for one of his inaugural adventures. My only worry is that they’ll make me leave the set when I’m not filming.”

Miller achieved fame as half of comedy duo Armstrong and Miller before success in dramas, including Primeval and, more recently, as DI Richard Poole, the central character in the first two series of the BBC’s Death In Paradise.

Miller’s partner in comedy, Alexander Armstrong, appeared in Doctor Who’s 2011 Christmas Special, playing Reg Arwell, but it’s Miller’s first time on the show and he’ll be starring in an episode written by Mark Gatiss.

Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, adds: “Mark Gatiss has written us a storming villain for his new episode, and with Capaldi in the TARDIS, we knew we needed somebody special to send everybody behind the sofa. And quite frankly, it’s about time Ben Miller was in Doctor Who!”

Other familiar faces confirmed to join Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman in the new series, which will TX on BBC One later this year, include Tom Riley and Keeley Hawes.